Siege of Odani Castle

The Siege of Odani Castle occurred in 1573 during the Sengoku period. The army of Nobunaga Oda besieged the rival warlord (and his brother-in-law) Nagamasa Azai at his home, Odani Castle, leading to the annihilation of the Azai clan.

The Azai clan went to war with the Oda after Nobunaga Oda attacked Nagamasa Azai's ally, Yoshikage Asakura, leading to the Azai-Asakura defeat at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570. Three years later, Nobunaga decided to finish off his Azai rivals by besieging Nagamasa at Odani Castle. Nagamasa decided to release his wife Oichi (Nobunaga's sister) from the castle before the armies of Nobunaga and Ieyasu Tokugawa arrived, showing that he still had honor. His garrison of 5,000 troops, facing a force six times its size, decided to fight a hopeless final battle against the Oda-Tokugawa army. Nagamasa decided to attempt a siege of the Oda camp, but this attempt failed, and Nagamasa and his father Hisamasa Azai committed seppuku once it became clear that the battle was lost. Their deaths ended the Azai clan, and Nobunaga conquered Omi Province.